1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a display, either analog or digital, of one or more signals computed to convey important information about the underlying process responsible for the signal or signals. More particularly, the present invention relates to generating a display by transforming one or more signals into a spatial relationship of two or more dimensions and processing the relationships to display important features to the viewer.
2. Related Art
The display of any function is intended to communicate information to a user. A display of signals requires the viewer to decide if a relationship exists between the signals. Interpretation is simplified when associated signals are processed before display. For an example of a well-related set of signals, an electrocardiogram can display information from each electrode's signal in parallel and display the calculated signals derived from summing two or more signals. Additionally, calculations may be used to derive averaged signals presented as short segments showing the characteristics of the bulk electrical activity of the heart which are meaningful to the cardiologist.
The problem of “what” to display becomes important in processes that are not well connected. An example poorly-connected signals, includes combined signals from an accelerometer and surface electromyograph (SEMG). An SEMG is a device used to monitor physiological activity and is attached to the skin to measure the electrical activity of a muscle. An accelerometer connected in the area affected by the muscle can measure the motion of that area. Muscle activity and accelerometer motion are related only when both sensors are placed appropriately and will be poorly-related when placed in other locations.
The conventional display on a SEMG is an analog meter, or a numerical display indicating electrical voltage. The SEMG can be hooked to an oscilloscope, or its signal provided to a personal computer to enable providing a display of voltage vs. time, and storage of the display for later reference. The time an event occurs can be “displayed” by controlling how long each data point takes to traverse the screen. Data can be displayed using an XY oscilloscope to provide some display of the time an event occurs by having a decay time for each illuminated image point or area.
It is desirable to provide an improved display for physiological activities, or for the display of a variety of other functions, to allow a user to more accurately and rapidly monitor the activity or function.